Christopher McQuarrie Not Sure He Wants to Return for ‘Mission: Impossible 7’

You can’t blameMission: Impossiblefans for wanting Christopher McQuarrie to return to direct another film in the series. McQuarrie is the first director in the history of the long-running action franchise to helm more than one Mission; he made 2015’s Rogue Nation and then returned for 2018’s even-better Fallout, which really might be the best movie out of the six. Fallout continued the ideas of Rogue Nation, and brought back both of its new characters: Evil spy Solomon Lane and mysterious British agent Ilsa Faust. It would only make sense to wrap up their stories (if not the entire franchise, with Tom Cruise creeping up towards 60 years of age) with one last McQuarrie movie. And Cruise reportedly agrees.

There’s just one problem: McQuarrie isn’t sure he wants to make a third Mission: Impossible. Speaking to Empire Magazine’s podcast (via Collider), he sounded extremely unsure about such a move:

“[Fallout editor] Eddie Hamilton, every day in the editing room was like, ‘Come on, man, it’s obviously a trilogy you’re coming back, you have to finish it, you didn’t kill Lane,’ and I was like, ‘It’s somebody else’s problem,’” said McQuarrie (via Collider). “Tom has asked, the studio has asked, and I was like, ‘You know maybe I’ve got an idea for…’ and then the reviews came out and I was like, ‘Get outta here. Just stop.’ I felt so bad for the director of Mission 6 and I feel even worse of the director of 7. I’d rather have leprosy than be in the position of the person having to confront the pressure of the hyperbole of this movie on their first day of shooting the film. It’s too much to confront. I’d need a long nap before I could contemplate it.”

I’m going to speak directly to Mr. McQuarrie here. (I know he’s reading.) Please, please come back. Please. Pretty please? I don’t ask you for much. All I need is one more Mission: Impossible, possibly one where Tom Cruise runs so fast he reverses time. That’s it. After that you can do whatever personal passion project interests you for the rest of your career. You will have my full support — after I get the Mission: Impossible where Ethan Hunt goes to the moon with a jet pack.